Winter Love: Our Week in Words

This week was very... long! It started off wonderfully and went downhill fast. Stella has been waking through the night again recently, which is hard when a month back she was sleeping up to 12 hours straight. Getting up during the night isn't so bad, But its trying to feel alive the next day that gets me. She wakes around 4am and has the tiniest amount of milk and then goes back to sleep, I'm really hoping this will phase itself out soon. Despite the exhaustion, we kept up with the housework, played lots of games and even had a trip to Godmother Sophies for dinner.

Thursday marked my first day back at work since taking maternity leave in May 2010. I was incredibly nervous, but secretly pretty excited to be back in the fun retail atmosphere that I have missed so much. Walking back into the place I'd called 'home' for 5 years brought so many emotions with it, I really wasn't expecting that! It had seen me through highschool, college, boyfriends, heartbreak, house moves, pregnancy and now motherhood. It is great to be back socialising with adults, playing with fashion and feeling like my own person again, although I wont lie...after only a 5 hour shift I was exhausted come Thursday night.

Which brings me to the part of our week that went downhill drastically. Stella has been teething for what seems like forever. She would get grizzly, very red cheeks, refuse bottles and sleep little on and off since around 5 months old. Thursday night she did not sleep at all. Not even a wink. She'd doze with the bottle in her mouth and then wake as soon as I took it out. She was so clingy; wanting to be cuddled constantly. My patience was tested beyond belief, I too was exhausted and couldn't for the life of me figure out what was wrong with her. Was it just teething? Did she have some kind of tummy bug? Does she have gastro? At 4am she vomitted all through my bed which called for a 4:30am bath. Needless to say, the next day was not pleasant. There were tears from the both of us. However, there is always a calm after the storm which finally came around midnight Friday. She fell asleep in my bed next to me and slept for 8 solid hours! Followed by 6 the next day! Hallelujah! And there was a tooth... Poking its little head out of her gums to say hello.

It is now Sunday and Stella is sleeping, the sun is out and the house is back to calm, clean and collected. I must admit, this week really was one of the most trying i've had. I found myself questioning my abilities as a Mother and my abilities to cope with stress. The hardest thing about this mothering gig would not being able to get some kind of reassurance that you are doing an ok job. Your child isn't able to give constructive criticism on your parenting and there is no weekly report with statistics on how you are performing. You're on your own...Sometimes quite literally!

I've learnt from this week: 1. Sleep is valuable, even an hour. Grab it however you can- while baby is playing with toys happily and safe in the cot (No this does not make you a bad parent!) or while a friend watches the baby. 2. Eat for energy and keep a good stash. I ran out of frozen meals in the middle of the horror nights and had no fruit or even chocolate, this exacerbated my crankies. 3. If you don't feel comfortable directly asking for help- Just be honest. Say 'I'm not coping or I need someone to bring me groceries', someone will offer. 4. Teething is horrid. 5. Put a waterproof protector on your matress as well as babies (R.I.P electric blanket)